CNBC
• Elsa Ohlen
Arianespace has added six Ariane 64 launches to Amazon Leo’s contract, bringing the total to 24, while signing a cooperation agreement with ICEYE and supporting new India-France space-sector deals. The agreements reinforce Europe’s push to secure launch access and build sovereign satellite capabilities.
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NASA awarded Inversion Space a contract to study aerocapture, a concept that uses a planetary atmosphere to slow an incoming spacecraft. The work could examine a new approach to interplanetary travel by reducing the need for conventional propulsion during spacecraft arrival.
TrustPoint, a startup developing a commercial global navigation satellite system, has selected EnduroSat to build a 40-satellite constellation. The agreement adds a defined spacecraft manufacturing partner to TrustPoint’s plans to establish an alternative commercial GNSS service.
Isar Aerospace has reached orbit with its Spectrum rocket, adding a homegrown European launch option. Separately, Eutelsat and Skynopy are expanding LEO satellite data-downlink capacity, while Aerospacelab has won a €2.4 billion contract to build 264 satellites for the EU’s secure IRIS² communications network.
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Arianespace has added six Ariane 64 launches to Amazon Leo’s contract, bringing the total to 24, while signing a cooperation agreement with ICEYE and supporting new India-France space-sector deals. The agreements reinforce Europe’s push to secure launch access and build sovereign satellite capabilities.
Britain has spent nearly $40 million on SpaceX satellite services, increasing its dependence on the U.S. company for military communications. The spending comes as European governments express growing concern about reliance on U.S.-controlled security infrastructure and the strategic implications of commercial satellite connectivity.
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The Exploration Company has reserved an Ariane 6 flight for the Nyx demonstration mission through the European Space Agency’s ALADDIN cargo program. The booking links the company’s in-space transportation vehicle to Europe’s institutional launch framework and adds a commercial cargo mission to Ariane 6’s manifest.
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UK startup NewOrbit says it has secured a launch slot for NEO-1, a commercial rideshare mission planned for very low Earth orbit in the third quarter of 2028. The announcement adds another prospective customer mission to the emerging VLEO market, though no launch provider or payload details were disclosed.
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Eutelsat, OroraTech, Planet Labs, Hanwha and a separate industry consortium are advancing satellite-based thermal, optical and synthetic-aperture radar intelligence systems, with plans spanning hosted payloads on OneWeb satellites, faster deployment of Planet’s Owl constellation and a projected $1 billion AI-enabled imaging network. HAMZA-1 adds an autonomous UAV dimension.
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